Concerts & Events
John Williams the Great
STILIAN KIROV, Conductor
Paying homage to one of the most prolific film composers of all time, John Williams, this performance whisks concertgoers away to the cinema to experience the best part of blockbuster films: the soundtrack, live in concert. Conducted by Maestro Stilian Kirov, the Symphony brings to life pieces from Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, and many more.
Sponsored by
Uhler Vertich White Advisors
Ellie Fox
The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation
Judi Roth
Fri | Jan 31, 2025 | 7:00PM
Charlotte Performing Arts Center
Sat | Feb 1, 2025 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
Rock Star Séance
Partnership with Alliance For The Arts
Andrew Lipke, guest artist
Halloween weekend is the perfect time to conjure the spirits of lauded rock stars who sparkled, then faded into the afterlife. Join us for this special concert event with locally beloved living rock star in his own right, Andrew Lipke, as he leads the audience through a musical séance. In addition to featuring a multimedia experience, Maestro Lipke will channel the spirits of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, and more through “spirit host” vocalists/guitarists who will embody the musicians and the music they performed that changed the world. Concertgoers are encouraged to dress as their favorite dearly departed rock stars to encourage their spirits to visit with us that night. Are you scared yet?
Sponsored by
The Alliance for the arts
Zaks Jewelers
Barbara B Mann PAH
Thurs | Oct 24, 2024 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
Symphony at the Tribby
Priscila Navarro, guest pianist
Stilian Kirov, conductor
William Grant Still: Mother and Child
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto in A minor
Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite
Our friends at the Tribby Arts Center will feature a stunning evening of classical music in partnership with the Southwest Florida Symphony, conducted by Maestro Stilian Kirov, featuring Florida Gulf Coast University Bower School of Music graduate, multi-award winning pianist Priscila Navarro as she performs the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto. Also on this delightful program is the Grieg Holberg Suite, and a heartwarming piece sure to evoke images of Americana, Mother and Child, by early American composer William Grant-Still.
Sponsored by
The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation
Thurs | Nov 7, 2024 | 7:00PM
Tribby Arts Center, Shell Point
Holiday Pops
Andrew Lipke, Conductor
Mary Bichner, guest artist
Multitalented composer/arranger/storyteller/mezzo-soprano Mary Bichner debuts with the Southwest Florida Symphony this season, adding new twists to old yuletide favorites at the orchestra’s traditional Holiday Pops Program, playing at a theater near you! Mary’s breadth of vocal styles will transport audiences from Broadway to the great opera houses of the world, popular music clubs, and even to the warmth of carol singing in your living room, surrounded by family and friends. This performance, conducted by local Pops favorite Andrew Lipke, will surely add sparkle and joy to your holidays.
Sponsored by
Ellie Fox
Uhler Vertich White Financial Advisors
Dec 9, 2024 | 2PM & 7PM | Tribby Arts Center
Dec 10, 2024 | 7PM | Charlotte Performing Arts Center
Dec 11, 2024 | 7PM | Faith Presbyterian Cape Coral
Ode to Joy
STILIAN KIROV, Conductor
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Experience the sound of human emotion in all its glory as the Southwest Florida Symphony, conducted by Maestro Stilian Kirov, joins the Fort Myers Mastersingers and Opera Naples to perform one of Beethoven’s most powerful pieces. After more than a decade, the Southwest Florida Symphony is thrilled to bring Symphony No. 9 back to the concert halls of Lee and Charlotte Counties. As a prelude to Ode to Joy, the Symphony is honored to partner with a preeminent student string orchestra in Lee County for a side-by-side with the professional musicians of the Southwest Florida Symphony, demonstrating the exceptional level of talent, both youth and professional, our community is graced with.
Sponsored by
Uhler Vertich White Advisors
Ellie Fox
The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation
Judi Roth
Fri | Jan 17, 2025 | 7:00PM
charlotte performing arts center
Sat | Jan 18, 2025 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
John Williams the Great
STILIAN KIROV, Conductor
Paying homage to one of the most prolific film composers of all time, John Williams, this performance whisks concertgoers away to the cinema to experience the best part of blockbuster films: the soundtrack, live in concert. Conducted by Maestro Stilian Kirov, the Symphony brings to life pieces from Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, and many more.
Sponsored by
Uhler Vertich White Advisors
Ellie Fox
The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation
Judi Roth
Fri | Jan 31, 2025 | 7:00PM
Charlotte Performing Arts Center
Sat | Feb 1, 2025 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
You’ve Got Mail!: Musical Love Letters
Andrew Lipke, Conductor
Mary Bichner, guest artist
Maestro Andrew Lipke and mezzo-soprano Mary Bichner are clearly smitten with Southwest Florida. They return with a special delivery of musical love letters on Valentine’s Weekend, with a performance designed to help you up your romance game. Swoon to tunes about love from the classics and Broadway, to radio hits you used to dedicate to your sweetheart in college, and even a few internet-famous love songs. This is the ultimate love letter to Southwest Florida and the people who love its orchestra.
Sponsored by
Uhler Vertich White Advisors
Ellie Fox
The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation
Judi Roth
Fri | Feb 14, 2025 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
Sat | Feb 15, 2025 | 7:00PM
Charlotte Performing Arts Center
2025: A Space Odyssey
STILIAN KIROV, Conductor
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (Sunrise Fanfare)
John Williams: E.T. Adventures on Earth
arr. Calvin Custer: Star Trek Through the Years
Gustav Holst: The Planets
NASA’s vision is to reveal the unknown for the benefit of all humankind. This concert reveals the intensity of orchestral music for the benefit of all humankind. Conducted by Maestro Stilian Kirov, immerse yourself in Holst’s The Planets, excerpts from Also Spracht Zarathustra (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), the themes from Star Trek and E.T. for an out-of-this-world symphonic experience.
Sponsored by
Uhler Vertich White Advisors
Ellie Fox
The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation
Sat | Mar 15, 2025 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
The 4 Seasons: Vivaldi and Valli
Steven Jarvi, conductor
SooBeen Lee, guest violinist
Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: Jersey Boys Medley
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring
You read that right. What do a Baroque-era composer and lead Jersey Boy have in common besides Italian lineage? The Four Seasons! In this unlikely pairing, timeless music that spans millennia shares the stage in this unique performance. Conducted by Maestro Steven Jarvi, be mesmerized by the ornate violin solo dancing above the lushness of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, then “spring” forward to a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons medley that is so outlandish on this program that it actually works.
Sponsored by
Uhler Vertich White Financial Advisors
Ellie Fox
David Hall, in memory of Gail Hall
Sat | Mar 29, 2025 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
American Beauty
STILIAN KIROV, Conductor
William Hagen, guest violinist
George Walker: Lyric for Strings
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor “From the New World”
The final concert of our 64th season demonstrates where we really shine like no other orchestra with an all-classical performance. Conducted by Maestro Stilian Kirov, this concert features compositions inspired by America and American composers: the Barber Violin Concerto with special guest soloist William Hagen, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9: From the New World and a contemporary piece by George Walker, Lyric for Strings.
Sponsored by
Uhler Vertich White Financial Advisors
Ellie Fox
The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation
The Diefenbach Family
Sat | April 26, 2025 | 7:30PM
Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
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